HDFC ERGO Establishes Department to Handle Claims In-House

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Sergio Ulloa (G+)

India-based HDFC ERGO, the joint-venture between Indian finance group HDFC and Germany's insurance company ERGO International, have recently established their own in-house claims servicing department for health care and insurance claims and questions. The HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company, which is the 4^th largest general insurance company in India, provides a number of lines of private insurance including motor, home and local health insurance plans. ERGO recently established their own department to service health claims in-house. The new department, called Health Claims Services (HCS), will focus on expediting HDFC ERGO's claims settlements, while also ensuring a level of transparency throughout the process. Customer satisfaction surveys focused on Indian general insurance companies have indicated that customers often stake their opinion of health insurance providers on their experiences during claims settlement. Meanwhile, regulatory adaptations in India allowing portability between insurers for health insurance products and a new system for filing and tracking complaints have also improved consumer choices further raised customer expectations. By creating the Health Claims Services department, HDFC should be able to control their customers' claims experience from end to end, rather than relying on an outside entity, like a Third Party Administrator. By increasing their engagement in the process and also with the customers, HDFC ERGO may be able to build trust with its clients provided that the Health Claims Services department continues to provide quality services. In order to further this goal, the Health Claims Services will not only manage the claims settlement of health policies, but will also assist customers with other relevant health queries. HDFC ERGO is facilitating this through partnership with numerous network service providers such as diagnostic and wellness facilities, ambulances and pharmacies in addition to their 3,000 strong network of hospitals. HDFC ERGO's Head of the Strategic Planning Group, Mr. Mukesh Kumar said about the announced creation of HCS, "In today's era, customer expects to interact with company directly. There is more trust generated with higher accountability involved in servicing the customers. With this internal mechanism we are planning to establish better control on the overall claim settlement process & improve the turnaround time (TAT) with seamless, hassle free & transparent services in health claim settlement." Companies Mentioned HDFC ERGO HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company is a Indian general insurance joint-venture between ERGO International AG, the main insurance arm of Munich Re Group, and HDFC Limited which is one of India's leading finance institutions for housing. The joint-venture which is split 26:74 between ERGO and HDFC, is the 4^th largest general insurance provider in India, and operates a number of lines of insurance including motor, health and home.